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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 · plane · mine · trunk · pound · straw · fan · race

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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 — a contest
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. plane — a tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. race — humankind
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. race — the arms race
  16. mine — for digging
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pound — a weight
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a tree

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