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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. race — humankind
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — a contest
  5. club — a group
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. club — for golf
  14. chest — a box
  15. club — for dancing
  16. file — a document
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. file — a line of people
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lie — to recline

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