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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. file — a document
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chest — a box
  12. file — a tool
  13. race — humankind
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stem — to come from
  23. lean — thin
  24. chest — of your body

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