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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: arm · field · spring · race · lean · bay · bear · bat

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bat — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. race — humankind
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. spring — the season
  12. field — for sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bear — the animal
  18. spring — of water
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. field — a subject
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bat — for baseball

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