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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. file — a tool
  6. kid — to tease
  7. saw — the tool
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kid — child
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. race — a contest
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a document
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. file — a line of people
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. last — to go on
  21. firm — decided
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. last — finally

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