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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. lie — to recline
  2. race — humankind
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — to tease
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — of the year
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. season — in sport
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. race — a contest
  23. kid — child
  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