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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. scale — in music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. roll — a cake
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. club — for golf
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. club — a group
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. scale — size or range
  21. roll — a list
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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