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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · staff · arm · march · kid · coach

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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. march — music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pit — a hole
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. staff — a stick
  14. kid — child
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pit — in a race

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