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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. content — the amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — electricity
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. charge — a price
  9. kid — child
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bank — of a river
  12. race — a contest
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bank — for money
  17. charge — in control
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bank — for money
  20. race — humankind
  21. content — happy
  22. race — the arms race
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. content — videos and posts

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