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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. foot — a measure
  3. game — wild animals
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. game — a match
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cell — in biology
  13. content — happy
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. content — the amount
  20. cell — a phone
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. stand — to bear

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