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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cell — a phone
  5. drill — the tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — the arms race
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. staff — employees
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fine — all right
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — humankind
  21. rash — a series
  22. scale — in music
  23. rash — hasty
  24. scale — size or range

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