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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 · arm · deal · cap · row · content · wind · court

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wind — moving air
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. row — a line
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cap — a lid
  10. content — happy
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cap — of ice
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. cap — a hat
  17. content — the amount
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. row — to paddle
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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