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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — in sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — after costs
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — the season
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rush — hurry
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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