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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. race — a contest
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. snap — to click
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a music group
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. last — final
  21. fine — all right
  22. last — to go on
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. deal — to handle

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