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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.

Make a worksheet

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: arm · sharp · march · squash · chair · deal · rock · cold

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — to handle
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — clever
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — a stone
  23. march — the month
  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