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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. land — a country
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cell — a phone
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. land — to come down
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. drill — the tool
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. bore — to tire
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. drill — army training
  20. net — after costs
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. land — ground
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — a practice

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