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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 · bat · file · band · race · ruler · hide · squash

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. race — the arms race
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. race — a contest
  7. file — a tool
  8. race — humankind
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. file — a document
  17. squash — to crush
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a music group

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