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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — in music
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. snap — to click
  9. race — the arms race
  10. scale — size or range
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. race — humankind
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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