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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. game — a match
  3. firm — decided
  4. race — a contest
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. firm — steady
  8. roll — a list
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. fork — in a road
  11. race — the arms race
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — humankind
  17. rash — a series
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. firm — a company
  23. game — wild animals
  24. roll — a cake

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