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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. march — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — a match
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — a container
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. march — the month
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tube — the underground

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