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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: arm · club · press · snap · race · perch

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. press — to push
  9. snap — to click
  10. club — a group
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. club — for dancing
  13. press — newspapers
  14. perch — the fish
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. club — for golf
  17. race — the arms race
  18. arm — a part of something

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