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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. bass — the instrument
  3. chip — to eat
  4. kick — in football
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. object — a thing
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. toast — bread
  12. bass — the fish
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bass — low music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. file — a document
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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