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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: arm · ball · cell · staff · ground · cold · saw · foot

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cell — in biology
  6. ball — a dance
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. staff — employees
  12. ground — a position
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cold — an illness
  16. staff — employees
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cell — a phone
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cold — not warm
  21. staff — a stick
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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