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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — the month
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. root — of a plant
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. root — of a word
  11. march — the month
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. root — the cause
  18. band — a ring
  19. kick — in football
  20. march — music
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. kick — a thrill

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