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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mug — a cup
  6. race — the arms race
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. kid — child
  11. mug — to rob
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. spell — magic
  14. mug — a face
  15. race — a contest
  16. roll — a list
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spell — a short time
  20. game — a match
  21. spell — letters
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. roll — a cake

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