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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. race — a contest
  5. rule — a law
  6. game — a match
  7. race — humankind
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. band — a music group
  11. chair — a leader
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. sharp — clever
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. fall — the season
  23. rule — government
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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