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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. land — ground
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. squash — to crush
  17. land — to come down
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. race — a contest
  20. capital — money
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. race — humankind
  23. land — a country
  24. sharp — exactly

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