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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. race — a contest
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. court — for sport
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. court — of a king
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. plane — a tool
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. race — the arms race
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — of law
  19. race — humankind
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lie — to recline
  23. net — in sport
  24. arm — a part of something

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