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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — a box
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bear — the animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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