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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. race — the arms race
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. shower — rain
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — humankind
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — a country
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — ground
  23. race — a contest
  24. land — to come down

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