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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ground — a position
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ground — crushed
  5. race — a contest
  6. staff — a stick
  7. shower — to wash
  8. last — final
  9. ground — the earth
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. race — humankind
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — finally
  14. staff — employees
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain

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