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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. game — a match
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cap — a lid
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chest — of your body
  18. roll — a cake
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cap — of ice
  21. file — a tool
  22. cap — a hat
  23. sharp — clever
  24. race — humankind

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