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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: fan · present · cold · chest · craft · arm · hide · stick

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. craft — boats
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chest — a box
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. present — the time now
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. craft — a handicraft

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