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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 124 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — money
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bass — low music
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — a box
  21. craft — boats
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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