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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. file — a document
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. file — a tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. race — the arms race
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. file — a line of people
  14. board — a committee
  15. race — a contest
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — to point toward
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. board — to get on
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. face — part of the head
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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