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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: scale · ground · tear · sharp · hide · cue · capital · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cue — a hint
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cue — a signal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. sharp — clever
  9. ground — crushed
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. scale — in music
  12. cue — for pool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — money
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. capital — a city
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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