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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cold — an illness
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. race — a contest
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. capital — money
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rest — a break
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — not warm
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. race — humankind

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