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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — a hat
  5. land — a country
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cap — a lid
  9. prune — to trim
  10. plane — a tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. prune — to trim
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. land — to come down
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rash — hasty
  19. land — ground
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — of ice
  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