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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: calf · mug · tear · swing · cabinet · degree · wind · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. degree — temperature
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mug — a cup
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. calf — a young animal

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