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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. key — for a lock
  4. roll — a cake
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. foot — a measure
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a tool
  11. roll — a list
  12. chip — to eat
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. file — a document
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. key — in music
  19. degree — from a university
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chip — for betting
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. file — a line of people
  24. key — the most important part

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