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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pit — a hole
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — a thing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — an aim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. object — to protest
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — in a race
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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