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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 120 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. club — for golf
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rash — hasty
  8. race — humankind
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a dance
  11. race — a contest
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. club — for dancing
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. club — a group
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — the fruit

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