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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. race — humankind
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — the arms race
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bear — the animal
  13. can — a tin
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — a contest
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. sharp — clever
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — the animal
  22. can — to be able to
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cold — an illness

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