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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. race — the arms race
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — money
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. race — humankind
  21. capital — a city
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bound — certain
  24. race — a contest

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