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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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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: cold · chip · rash · arm · lean · deal · branch · court

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chip — to eat
  3. court — for sport
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. lean — thin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. rash — a series
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chip — for betting
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. lean — to bend
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. rash — hasty

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