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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. object — a thing
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ball — a great time
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. object — an aim
  11. shower — rain
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. race — a contest
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — to protest
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chest — a box
  24. race — humankind

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