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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. track — a song
  4. row — a line
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spell — magic
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — child
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spell — letters
  13. hand — help
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. row — to paddle
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. race — a contest
  20. bound — certain
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bound — obliged
  23. race — the arms race
  24. track — a path

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