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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fall — to drop
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — the season
  14. chair — a leader
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. content — happy
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. net — in sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — the amount
  23. race — a contest
  24. net — after costs

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