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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. race — humankind
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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