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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. toast — bread
  3. capital — a city
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. kid — child
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. capital — money
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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