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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. object — to protest
  3. squash — to crush
  4. race — humankind
  5. spring — a coil
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. object — an aim
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. sharp — clever
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — of water
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. rush — hurry
  17. object — a thing
  18. race — a contest
  19. mine — for digging
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — the season
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. squash — the sport

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