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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. suit — to fit
  4. race — the arms race
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — humankind
  8. fine — high quality
  9. spring — the season
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chair — a leader
  13. suit — in cards
  14. spring — of water
  15. fine — all right
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — a line
  20. suit — clothes
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fine — a penalty

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