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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — an illness
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. race — humankind
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — not warm
  11. race — the arms race
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — in music
  14. perch — the fish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. snap — to click
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. staff — employees
  22. tear — to rip
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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