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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. staff — employees
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — in music
  14. mate — a friend
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — a leader
  20. capital — a city
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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