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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fine — all right
  5. squash — the sport
  6. court — of law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. court — for sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — of a king
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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