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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. roll — a list
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. club — for dancing
  5. race — humankind
  6. club — for golf
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. roll — a cake
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rock — a stone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — music
  13. club — a group
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. charge — a price
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — in a road
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. charge — in control
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. race — the arms race

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