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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. march — the month
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rash — hasty
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rash — a series
  16. capital — money
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. capital — a city
  24. arm — part of the body

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