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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. race — humankind
  5. bound — obliged
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — a contest
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bound — certain
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. sharp — clever
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bound — tied together
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. drill — a practice

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