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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cap — a hat
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — of the year
  9. spell — magic
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — a short time
  17. land — ground
  18. spell — letters
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — in sport
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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