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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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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mug — a face
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. kid — to tease
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. drill — the tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mug — to rob
  11. kid — child
  12. stem — to come from
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fork — in a road
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — money
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mug — a cup

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