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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. capital — money
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a city
  6. foot — a measure
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tube — a container
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. object — a thing
  14. snap — to click
  15. object — to protest
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. object — an aim
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — for sport
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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