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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pitch — completely
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pop — soda
  6. field — for sport
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. field — a subject
  13. pop — to visit
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. charge — in control
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — farmland
  19. race — humankind
  20. charge — electricity
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. pop — music
  24. charge — a price

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