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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. race — the arms race
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. staff — employees
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. staff — a stick
  11. court — of a king
  12. race — humankind
  13. staff — employees
  14. squash — to crush
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. race — a contest
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. court — of law
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — a sick person

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