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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. dip — to sink
  3. game — a match
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. club — for dancing
  7. race — a contest
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — a position
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. race — humankind
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. ground — crushed
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. club — for golf
  22. squash — the sport
  23. club — a group
  24. race — the arms race

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