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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rock — a stone
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — in cards
  7. clip — a video
  8. rock — music
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. clip — to cut
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. land — to come down
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hand — help
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. land — a country
  23. clip — for paper
  24. race — humankind

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