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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. scale — in music
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wake — a trail
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. race — a contest
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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