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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: tear · arm · swing · race · mark · cell

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. race — humankind
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cell — in biology
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cell — a phone
  17. mark — a trace
  18. race — the arms race

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