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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 120 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitch — completely
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. race — a contest
  6. staff — a stick
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. tear — to rip
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — child
  18. race — the arms race
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. race — humankind
  22. staff — employees
  23. craft — a skill
  24. tear — from crying

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