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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 · mine · firm · chest · rule · bat · race · fine

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — a company
  7. chest — of your body
  8. race — humankind
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. race — the arms race
  18. firm — steady
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rule — a law
  21. race — a contest
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — in an idiom

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