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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. shower — rain
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — to tease
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stock — goods
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bat — the animal
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. toast — bread

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