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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. file — a line of people
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. squash — to crush
  11. charge — electricity
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mine — for digging
  16. charge — a price
  17. squash — the sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mark — a grade
  21. charge — in control
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — an explosive

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