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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. field — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. squash — the sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cap — of ice
  17. field — farmland
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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