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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. race — the arms race
  5. shower — rain
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — humankind
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mate — to breed
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bound — tied together
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. race — a contest
  15. court — for sport
  16. bound — certain
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mate — a partner
  20. court — of a king
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of law

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