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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rush — hurry
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. court — of law
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. can — a tin
  11. club — for dancing
  12. rash — a series
  13. court — for sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. club — for golf
  17. race — humankind
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of a king
  22. club — a group
  23. can — a tin
  24. wound — an injury

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