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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — child
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. race — a contest
  7. ground — a position
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. race — the arms race
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. stand — to bear
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stand — on your feet

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