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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. race — the arms race
  3. game — a match
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pop — to visit
  8. file — a line of people
  9. race — humankind
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. file — a tool
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. file — a document
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pop — soda
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. spring — of water
  22. pop — music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. race — a contest

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