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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: stem · arm · race · tear · clip · pitch

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. clip — to cut
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — a contest
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. race — humankind
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — a video
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. clip — for paper

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