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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bound — tied together
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bound — certain
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. file — a document
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — obliged
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. game — wild animals
  20. file — a tool
  21. key — in music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. file — a line of people

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