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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pit — a hole
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pit — in a race
  19. fork — in a road
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — bread

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