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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — clothes
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. swing — music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bound — obliged
  12. suit — in cards
  13. swing — in golf
  14. race — a contest
  15. bound — certain
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bound — tied together
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cell — a phone
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. prune — to trim

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