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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — in cards
  5. net — after costs
  6. branch — a division
  7. chair — a leader
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. net — for catching
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. foot — a measure
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — help
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. net — in sport
  24. branch — of a bank

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