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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. race — a contest
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rush — hurry
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — help
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. file — a document
  14. shower — to wash
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — the arms race
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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