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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. mug — to rob
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mug — a cup
  14. ground — a position
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cold — not warm
  18. shower — rain
  19. pop — soda
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mug — a face
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pop — music

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