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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. land — to come down
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cold — an illness
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kick — in football
  13. race — the arms race
  14. land — ground
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. race — humankind
  17. chest — a box
  18. tube — the underground
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. land — a country
  24. cold — not warm

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