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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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Word bank
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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 · race · cell · pit · spell · rule

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — humankind
  6. spell — magic
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rule — a law
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pit — a hole
  13. race — a contest
  14. spell — a short time
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rule — government
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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