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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. race — a contest
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — humankind
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — rain
  13. track — a path
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. race — the arms race
  19. track — a song
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. ball — a round shape

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