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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. drill — army training
  3. race — humankind
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. race — a contest
  6. squash — the sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tube — a container
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rush — hurry
  11. tube — the underground
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. race — the arms race
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. shower — rain
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. sharp — exactly

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