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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 · kid · cue · straw · race · board · file · bulb

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bulb — for light
  3. board — to get on
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a document
  7. cue — a hint
  8. file — a line of people
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. file — a tool
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. race — the arms race
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. board — a committee
  18. race — a contest
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cue — for pool
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. race — humankind

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