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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. chip — to eat
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mine — for digging
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — a contest
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mate — to breed
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hand — help
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — in a computer

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