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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. net — after costs
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. race — humankind
  6. content — happy
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. net — in sport
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. race — the arms race
  15. content — the amount
  16. rock — a stone
  17. net — for catching
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rock — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — of water
  24. content — videos and posts

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