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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. rash — a series
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rash — hasty
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. bat — the animal
  11. snap — to click
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — in a road
  15. club — a group
  16. race — a contest
  17. bear — the animal
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. club — for golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bear — to put up with

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