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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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 — a part of something
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a music group
  6. cap — a hat
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. band — a ring
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bass — low music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pound — a weight
  24. capital — a city

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