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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. march — the month
  7. content — the amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. degree — from a university
  15. staff — employees
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. staff — a stick
  19. degree — temperature
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. staff — employees
  24. content — videos and posts

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