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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 120 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: bat · hand · cold · foot · ground · arm · pass · plane

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bat — the animal
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. ground — a position
  10. pass — a permit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. foot — a measure
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ground — crushed
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. hand — help
  24. arm — a part of something

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