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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cold — an illness
  4. race — the arms race
  5. can — to be able to
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. key — in music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. can — a tin
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rash — a series
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. race — humankind
  18. key — for a lock
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rash — hasty
  24. can — a tin

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