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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. snap — to click
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bound — tied together
  8. file — a tool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bound — obliged
  13. capital — money
  14. race — humankind
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bound — certain
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a city
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — moving air

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