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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. hand — help
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. race — a contest
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tube — the underground
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. drill — army training
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tube — a container
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rush — a thrill

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