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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 116 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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. net — after costs
  7. land — to come down
  8. dip — to sink
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. land — ground
  14. net — for catching
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — the arms race
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. net — in sport
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. land — a country

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