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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: mug · arm · cue · saw · present · kid · capital · snap

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — a city
  3. kid — to tease
  4. present — there
  5. cue — a hint
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mug — a face
  12. snap — to click
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a cup
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — the time now
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. saw — the tool
  21. capital — money
  22. kid — child
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cue — for pool

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