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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — a city
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mate — a partner
  12. tear — to rip
  13. club — for golf
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. mate — to breed
  17. chest — a box
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — a group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — from crying

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