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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · arm · lean · race · pit · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cell — in biology
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lean — thin
  13. race — humankind
  14. cell — a phone
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. race — a contest

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