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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. race — a contest
  7. cold — not warm
  8. degree — an amount
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. saw — the tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. degree — temperature
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — to eat
  18. snap — to click
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chip — for betting
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. race — humankind
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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