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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. race — a contest
  3. wound — an injury
  4. track — a path
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. file — a tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. race — humankind
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mine — for digging
  21. track — to keep track
  22. object — an aim
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chest — of your body

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