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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: cabinet · bat · nail · mark · spell · cold · pit · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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. nail — on a finger
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mark — a trace
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pit — in a race
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spell — letters
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spell — magic
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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