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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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Word bank
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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: cap · squash · arm · fine · jam · court · rash · hand

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cap — of ice
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fine — all right
  8. cap — a lid
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rash — a series
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. court — of a king
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. squash — to crush
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. cap — a hat
  19. court — for sport
  20. hand — help
  21. court — of law
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. arm — a part of something

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