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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rash — a series
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — not warm
  6. swing — to play on
  7. root — the cause
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. swing — music
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. root — of a word
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. root — of a plant
  19. swing — in golf
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cold — an illness

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