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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chest — a box
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — of a king
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. court — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. race — humankind
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chest — of your body

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