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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chest — a box
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. degree — from a university
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. capital — money
  13. chair — a leader
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. capital — a city
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a dance

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