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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: deal · cap · arm · ball · wind · saw · chair · degree

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cap — a lid
  3. degree — an amount
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cap — of ice
  6. degree — from a university
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wind — moving air
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. chair — a leader
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wind — to turn a key

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