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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: jam · dip · rock · arm · race · pit · cold · scale

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pit — a hole
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. rock — a stone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — in music
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pit — in a race
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. race — humankind
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rock — music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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