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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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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. land — to come down
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — money
  7. kid — to tease
  8. land — a country
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. capital — a city
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — a box
  14. craft — a skill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. land — ground
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. kid — child
  24. arm — part of the body

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