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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. object — to protest
  4. race — humankind
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. object — an aim
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. object — a thing
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. spring — a coil
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitch — completely
  20. file — a tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spell — letters
  24. file — a document

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