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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cap — a lid
  5. current — happening now
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cap — of ice
  9. march — music
  10. bear — the animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. current — of water
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. snap — to click
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — not warm
  23. current — electric
  24. march — the month

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