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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. present — the time now
  3. race — the arms race
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — a contest
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. row — a line
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. present — a gift
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. row — to paddle
  15. race — humankind
  16. ball — a great time
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. present — there
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — the Cold War

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