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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: drill · cold · cell · pitcher · arm · stick · root · calf

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. root — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cell — in biology
  7. drill — army training
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — an illness
  14. drill — a practice
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. root — the cause
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. root — of a word
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cold — not warm

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