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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. land — to come down
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. land — ground
  7. saw — the tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. face — part of the head
  10. race — a contest
  11. face — to confront
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. land — a country
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. race — humankind
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chip — to eat
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chip — for betting

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