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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: tear · bat · snap · arm · chip · wound · stick · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. snap — to click
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tear — from crying
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wound — an injury

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