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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. race — a contest
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — the arms race
  6. can — to be able to
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. race — humankind
  13. can — a tin
  14. wound — an injury
  15. can — a tin
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. kick — a thrill

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