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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. race — humankind
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. race — the arms race
  5. game — a match
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cap — of ice
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — help
  16. cap — a lid
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — a hat
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. file — a document
  24. race — a contest

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