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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — the animal
  13. race — a contest
  14. cap — a lid
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. rule — a law
  17. cap — of ice
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cap — a hat
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rule — government
  24. saw — the tool

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