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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. race — a contest
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kid — child
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. file — a line of people
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. staff — a stick
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. race — humankind
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a document
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. snap — to click
  24. staff — employees

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