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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ground — the earth
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — letters
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. chest — of your body
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rash — a series
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. spell — magic
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chest — a box
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ground — a position
  21. race — humankind
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — a contest

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