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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — the arms race
  3. present — there
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bass — low music
  6. race — a contest
  7. present — the time now
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bass — the fish
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. kid — child
  15. present — a gift
  16. lie — to recline
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. tear — from crying
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. toast — bread
  21. kid — to tease
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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