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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. file — a document
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. toast — bread
  10. file — a tool
  11. lie — to recline
  12. file — a line of people
  13. race — a contest
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. roll — a list
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. roll — a cake
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. race — the arms race
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. race — humankind

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