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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: staff · band · sharp · race · arm · field · safe · wind

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. staff — a stick
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. staff — employees
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. band — a music group
  7. field — for sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. field — farmland
  10. staff — employees
  11. band — a ring
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. sharp — clever
  17. race — the arms race
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — a contest
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — a subject
  24. wind — moving air

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