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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. dip — to sink
  3. file — a document
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — a box
  6. deal — to handle
  7. chest — of your body
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. fall — the season
  17. file — a line of people
  18. band — a ring
  19. fall — to drop
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a tool
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — humankind
  24. prune — to trim

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