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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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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bear — the animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lie — to recline
  15. race — a contest
  16. season — in sport
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. season — of the year
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cell — in biology
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cell — in a prison

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