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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — hurry
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a document
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cue — for pool
  9. race — humankind
  10. drill — a practice
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cue — a hint
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. drill — army training
  17. last — final
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a tool
  20. race — a contest
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cue — a signal
  24. drill — the tool

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