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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — of water
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — humankind
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spring — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. hand — in cards
  19. key — for a lock
  20. ground — a position
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. race — the arms race
  24. hand — help

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