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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spell — letters
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. band — a ring
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — magic
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a music group
  14. firm — steady
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. kid — child
  19. race — a contest
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tear — to rip
  24. band — a rubber band

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