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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — to cut
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. object — a thing
  5. court — of a king
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — for sport
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rush — hurry
  22. court — of law
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bat — in an idiom

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