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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — in sport
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — a trace
  11. net — after costs
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. race — the arms race
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — not warm
  17. last — to go on
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. net — for catching
  20. last — final
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mark — a grade

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