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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 · pound · cell · race · staff · sharp · tear · season

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. tear — from crying
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. staff — employees
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — a phone
  12. season — of the year
  13. race — humankind
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — a weight
  17. season — in sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — in biology

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