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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. race — the arms race
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. row — a line
  6. bat — the animal
  7. hand — help
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. row — to paddle
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ground — crushed
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. band — a music group
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a ring
  18. ground — the earth
  19. race — a contest
  20. stand — to bear
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. row — a quarrel

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