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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. squash — the sport
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — to go on
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bulb — for light
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bass — low music
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. race — humankind
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bass — the fish
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. squash — to crush

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