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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. file — a document
  4. firm — steady
  5. hand — help
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chest — of your body
  17. file — a tool
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. firm — a company
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. sharp — clever
  24. firm — decided

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