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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 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. foot — a measure
  3. race — a contest
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spell — letters
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ground — a position
  12. race — humankind
  13. ground — the earth
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spell — magic
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chest — a box
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. prune — to trim
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. prune — the fruit

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