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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. object — to protest
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. row — a line
  8. race — a contest
  9. drill — army training
  10. race — humankind
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to click
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. object — an aim
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bear — the animal
  23. drill — a practice
  24. object — a thing

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