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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. track — a song
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. cold — an illness
  21. craft — boats
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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