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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. plane — a tool
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. march — the month

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