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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. race — humankind
  7. date — the fruit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. shower — to wash
  10. current — electric
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. current — happening now
  15. sharp — clever
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. current — of water
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. race — a contest
  24. shower — rain

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