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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cap — a lid
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — a match
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ground — a position
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. game — wild animals
  19. degree — from a university
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cap — of ice
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. degree — an amount

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