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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bound — tied together
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. club — a group
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bound — certain
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ball — a dance
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. club — for golf
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bat — the animal

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