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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. race — a contest
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. deal — to handle
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. shower — rain
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. race — humankind
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mark — a trace
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mark — a grade
  23. game — a match
  24. wake — a trail

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