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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. drill — the tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wound — an injury
  9. race — humankind
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. drill — army training
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. root — of a word
  23. kid — child
  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