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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. race — humankind
  5. rash — a series
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — a contest
  8. bound — obliged
  9. race — the arms race
  10. shower — rain
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bound — certain
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — hasty
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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