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

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. dip — to sink
  4. kid — child
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — final
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — finally
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ball — a dance
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. last — to go on
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. dip — a sauce

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