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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cap — a lid
  5. object — an aim
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. object — to protest
  8. hand — help
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hand — in cards
  11. tear — from crying
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. race — a contest
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. object — a thing
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cap — of ice
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cap — a hat
  23. race — humankind
  24. mine — belonging to me

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