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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chip — to eat
  4. key — the most important part
  5. drill — the tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. key — in music
  13. chest — a box
  14. race — a contest
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. shower — rain
  18. race — humankind
  19. chip — for betting
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. chest — of your body
  24. drill — army training

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