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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bore — to tire
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bore — to drill
  10. race — the arms race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. content — happy
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. ball — a great time
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. race — humankind
  18. branch — a division
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. content — the amount
  22. ball — a dance
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ball — a round shape

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