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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spell — magic
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. rash — a series
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rash — hasty
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. kid — to tease
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. race — humankind
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — child

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