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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — help
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — money
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. squash — to crush
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. object — an aim
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. bass — low music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. hand — in cards
  20. object — a thing
  21. bass — the fish
  22. object — to protest
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — the sport

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