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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — a contest
  5. pop — to visit
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pop — music
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. scale — in music
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kick — in football
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mark — a grade
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mark — a trace
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pop — soda

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