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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bass — low music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — child
  16. fall — the season
  17. race — humankind
  18. bass — the fish
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. race — the arms race
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. content — happy

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