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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. net — for catching
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — help
  6. bound — obliged
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. net — in sport
  11. race — a contest
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bound — tied together
  18. key — for a lock
  19. net — after costs
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — the tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. drill — a practice

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