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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — humankind
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a music group
  14. chest — a box
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. band — a ring
  23. rush — hurry
  24. chest — of your body

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