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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: march · saw · jam · arm · bat · bass · race · game

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. march — the month
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — the arms race
  6. march — music
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a match
  15. race — humankind
  16. game — wild animals
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bass — low music
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. saw — the tool
  24. arm — a part of something

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