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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fall — to drop
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. court — of law
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. dip — to sink
  14. degree — from a university
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. fall — the season
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. court — of a king

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