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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. shower — rain
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. file — a tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mug — a face
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. file — a document
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. mug — a cup
  23. row — a line
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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