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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kick — in football
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. race — the arms race
  8. row — to paddle
  9. race — a contest
  10. ground — a position
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rest — what's left
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rest — a break
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. row — a line
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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