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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. race — humankind
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. race — a contest
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. tear — from crying
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. foot — a measure
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cold — not warm
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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