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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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468
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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. foot — a measure
  3. capital — money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — happy
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fork — in a road
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. content — the amount
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  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