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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. last — to go on
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. content — happy
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. board — to get on
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bat — the animal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. last — final
  16. race — the arms race
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. race — humankind
  19. mark — a grade
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. race — a contest
  23. last — finally
  24. content — the amount

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