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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. court — for sport
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. court — of law
  9. pitch — completely
  10. tube — the underground
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rock — a stone
  18. race — a contest
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. rock — music
  24. tube — a container

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