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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. object — to protest
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cold — not warm
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. object — a thing
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. object — an aim
  20. bat — the animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — the Cold War

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