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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. ground — crushed
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kid — to tease
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — the amount
  11. race — a contest
  12. ground — the earth
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. race — the arms race
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. race — humankind
  20. ground — a position
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. kid — child
  24. arm — part of the body

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