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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. club — for dancing
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. race — a contest
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. clip — a video
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. court — of a king
  10. club — for golf
  11. land — ground
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. club — a group
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — a country
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. court — of law
  21. land — to come down
  22. race — humankind
  23. court — for sport
  24. arm — part of the 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