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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — for catching
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. snap — to click
  6. race — a contest
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. squash — the sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cell — in biology
  12. net — after costs
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. net — in sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kick — in football
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. race — humankind

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