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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 120 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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. capital — a city
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a line
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. degree — from a university
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. capital — money
  22. row — to paddle
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. object — an aim

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