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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 120 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: pit · arm · kid · spring · cap · race · spell · tear

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spring — of water
  7. spell — letters
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cap — a lid
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. spring — a coil
  18. race — a contest
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — a hat
  24. kid — child

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