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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. race — a contest
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. race — the arms race
  13. squash — the sport
  14. race — humankind
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chest — a box
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kick — in football
  24. prune — to trim

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