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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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. march — the month
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cue — a hint
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cue — for pool
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. march — music
  14. last — final
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pound — a weight
  17. last — finally
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pit — in a race
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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