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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. My father caught me by 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. jam — in traffic
  2. race — a contest
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. race — humankind
  8. hand — help
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. scale — in music
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. race — the arms race
  18. scale — size or range
  19. game — a match
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hand — in cards
  23. arm — part of the body
  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