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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tube — the underground
  6. march — the month
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — music
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. clip — a video
  13. band — a music group
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. clip — to cut
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tube — a container
  18. clip — for paper
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — the arms race
  21. march — the month
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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