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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. race — the arms race
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — rain
  6. lean — to bend
  7. game — wild animals
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lean — thin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cap — a lid
  12. last — to go on
  13. cap — a hat
  14. game — a match
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. race — humankind
  17. cap — of ice
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. race — a contest
  21. drill — army training
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. drill — the tool
  24. lash — to lash out

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