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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. race — a contest
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. race — humankind
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. degree — from a university
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. straw — a straw man

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