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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. kick — in football
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. net — in sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. race — the arms race
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. court — of a king
  17. sharp — clever
  18. net — for catching
  19. court — of law
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. root — of a plant
  22. net — after costs
  23. snap — to click
  24. root — the cause

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