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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. staff — employees
  3. kid — child
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ball — a dance
  7. staff — employees
  8. root — of a word
  9. can — a tin
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. can — to be able to
  17. ball — a great time
  18. staff — a stick
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — of a plant
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. root — the cause
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com