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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. band — a ring
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. race — a contest
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. race — the arms race
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pit — in a race
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. race — humankind
  18. fine — high quality
  19. spring — the season
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. band — a music group
  22. pit — a hole
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — of water

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