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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. race — humankind
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. game — wild animals
  7. toast — bread
  8. spell — magic
  9. race — a contest
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — letters
  14. rush — hurry
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mark — a grade
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. ball — a great time
  21. game — a match
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ball — a round shape

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