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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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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: hand · rule · squash · arm · lean · staff · cabinet · court

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — for sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. hand — help
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. lean — thin
  11. court — of law
  12. rule — a law
  13. lean — to bend
  14. rule — government
  15. court — of a king
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — in cards
  20. staff — employees
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lean — to rest against

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