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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — the arms race
  8. club — for golf
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. club — for dancing
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rash — a series
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. race — a contest
  23. club — a group
  24. row — to paddle

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