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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: race · rush · arm · season · chair · content · capital · fork

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. race — humankind
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. race — a contest
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fork — in a road
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. content — videos and posts

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