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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — humankind
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. foot — a measure
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. net — for catching
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bear — the animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — the animal
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. race — a contest
  24. bear — to put up with

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