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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. race — humankind
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fall — to drop
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. firm — steady
  12. firm — decided
  13. race — the arms race
  14. drill — army training
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. drill — the tool
  17. net — after costs
  18. drill — a practice
  19. firm — a company
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — the season
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fall — to drop

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