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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — humankind
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. craft — boats
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. race — a contest
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. craft — a skill
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chip — for betting
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chair — a leader
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chip — to eat
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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