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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. race — a contest
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. race — humankind
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. shower — rain
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bear — the animal
  10. file — a line of people
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a match
  13. race — the arms race
  14. file — a document
  15. pound — a weight
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. file — a tool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. saw — the tool

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