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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. shower — to wash
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. shower — rain
  9. kid — child
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wake — a trail
  20. net — for catching
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wind — moving air

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