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

Word bank: kid · content · arm · cue · chair · stick · capital · hide

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cue — a hint
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. capital — a city
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. content — the amount
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cue — a signal
  19. capital — money
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. content — happy
  23. cue — for pool
  24. chair — a leader

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