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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. race — a contest
  14. game — a match
  15. tear — to rip
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. tear — from crying

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