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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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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bound — obliged
  3. race — a contest
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. file — a tool
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bound — certain
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. file — a document
  13. swing — to play on
  14. squash — the sport
  15. swing — music
  16. race — humankind
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. squash — to crush
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bound — tied together
  23. file — a line of people
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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