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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ball — a great time
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. race — humankind
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. ball — a dance
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a tool
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tube — the underground
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. race — a contest
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rush — hurry
  23. race — the arms race
  24. snap — to click

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