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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. race — humankind
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. race — a contest
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — of water
  16. charge — in control
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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