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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. last — final
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. race — a contest
  12. saw — the tool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mug — to rob
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. last — finally
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — a cup
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. last — to go on

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