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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ball — a dance
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — to breed
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — a contest
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fall — the season
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rash — a series

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