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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. court — of a king
  3. race — humankind
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. court — of law
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. race — a contest
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. court — for sport
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bark — to shout

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