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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 120 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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468
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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — farmland
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — to paddle
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. row — a line
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kick — in football
  24. arm — a part of something

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