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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. game — a match
  3. toast — bread
  4. rest — a break
  5. wind — moving air
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — after costs
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rest — what's left
  15. race — humankind
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. shower — rain
  21. race — a contest
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. net — for catching

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