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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. snap — to click
  3. race — the arms race
  4. shower — to wash
  5. race — humankind
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — in a road
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — of water
  13. wound — an injury
  14. race — a contest
  15. shower — rain
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cap — a hat
  18. spring — a coil
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cap — of ice
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cap — a lid
  24. safe — a strongbox

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