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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse 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. bear — to put up with
  4. spell — letters
  5. bear — the animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. march — the month
  9. bear — the animal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. squash — the sport
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chip — to eat
  15. degree — an amount
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — from a university
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chip — for betting
  21. march — music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spell — magic

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