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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: club · cold · march · degree · foot · coach · racket · arm

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — the month
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — an illness
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. march — the month
  20. club — a group
  21. march — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. degree — an amount

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