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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spell — magic
  3. drill — the tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. pit — in a race
  6. race — a contest
  7. sharp — clever
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bound — obliged
  11. drill — army training
  12. bound — tied together
  13. spell — letters
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — certain
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. row — a line
  20. spell — a short time
  21. row — to paddle
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pit — a hole

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