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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: lie · arm · pit · march · drill · foot · kid · straw

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kid — to tease
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kid — child
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. march — the month
  8. pit — in a race
  9. drill — the tool
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. drill — army training
  19. foot — a measure
  20. lie — to recline
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — a hole
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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