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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. race — humankind
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — not warm
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. lean — thin
  12. race — a contest
  13. pit — a hole
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. lean — to bend
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  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