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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mug — a face
  3. rock — a stone
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mug — a cup
  8. rock — music
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. kid — to tease
  12. root — the cause
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mug — to rob
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — the month
  20. race — a contest
  21. march — music
  22. race — humankind
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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