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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — thin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bass — the fish
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bass — low music
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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