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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. race — humankind
  5. hand — help
  6. race — a contest
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fall — to drop
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. drill — the tool
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bound — certain
  18. fall — the season
  19. pitch — completely
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bound — tied together
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bound — obliged
  24. drill — army training

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