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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — a contest
  14. mug — a face
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — the earth
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kick — in football
  24. fine — high quality

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