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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bound — tied together
  3. club — for golf
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — obliged
  6. tear — to rip
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — certain
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. club — for dancing
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. race — the arms race
  15. snap — to click
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. club — a 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