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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — an aim
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — humankind
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. object — to protest
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — of the year
  14. ground — the earth
  15. last — to go on
  16. ground — crushed
  17. shower — rain
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. race — the arms race
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — in sport
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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