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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: cap · bowl · chair · cell · track · current · arm · fall

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — a phone
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fall — to drop
  8. track — a song
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. current — of water
  11. track — to keep track
  12. current — happening now
  13. chair — a leader
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — the season
  21. track — a path
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. current — electric
  24. chair — to sit on

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