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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. march — music
  7. roll — a list
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. tear — to rip
  10. hand — help
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. race — humankind
  15. pass — a permit
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. roll — a cake
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — in cards
  22. game — wild animals
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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