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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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. race — the arms race
  3. drill — army training
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stock — shares
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. staff — employees
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. race — a contest
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. race — humankind
  19. staff — a stick
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. staff — employees
  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