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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. pop — music
  6. last — finally
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pop — soda
  9. shower — to wash
  10. last — final
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — rain
  13. cap — of ice
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pop — to visit
  16. last — to go on
  17. race — humankind
  18. kid — child
  19. race — a contest
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cap — a hat
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — a cake
  24. race — the arms race

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