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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. race — the arms race
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — child
  7. rush — hurry
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. capital — a city
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. race — a contest
  20. spell — magic
  21. capital — money
  22. lean — to bend
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. race — humankind

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