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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. court — of a king
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rest — what's left
  10. court — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — money
  13. court — of law
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — a break
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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