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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. race — humankind
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. race — a contest
  6. mate — a friend
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — a phone
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cell — in biology

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