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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. last — to go on
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — of your body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — a hole
  14. last — final
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. last — finally
  18. shower — rain
  19. race — a contest
  20. chest — a box
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wound — an injury
  24. jam — in traffic

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