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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. drill — a practice
  3. key — for a lock
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. race — humankind
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. club — for dancing
  13. kid — to tease
  14. land — to come down
  15. key — in music
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. kid — child
  19. club — a group
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. key — the most important part
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — to wash
  24. race — a contest

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