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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. race — humankind
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. object — a thing
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. object — to protest
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. object — an aim
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — to rob
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cell — in biology
  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