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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. race — the arms race
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. firm — decided
  9. net — for catching
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tube — a container
  13. chest — of your body
  14. race — a contest
  15. rash — a series
  16. firm — a company
  17. tube — the underground
  18. chest — a box
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. race — humankind
  22. firm — steady
  23. rash — hasty
  24. tube — in a tire

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