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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bank — for money
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bank — for money
  8. spell — letters
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bank — of a river
  15. spell — magic
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. race — humankind
  18. bat — for baseball

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