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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. race — the arms race
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. deal — to handle
  12. clip — for paper
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. shower — to wash
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — size or range
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — a video
  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