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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pit — in a race
  6. capital — money
  7. spell — a short time
  8. shower — rain
  9. race — a contest
  10. pit — a hole
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. snap — to click
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. race — the arms race
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hand — part of the 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