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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: last · pound · game · bound · march · arm · pitcher · race

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pound — a weight
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. last — finally
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. march — music
  8. last — to go on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. race — a contest
  20. bound — certain
  21. race — the arms race
  22. march — the month
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — final

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