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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. file — a tool
  7. fall — the season
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — humankind
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chair — a leader
  16. foot — a measure
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — child
  20. rest — what's left
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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