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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. race — a contest
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fine — high quality
  5. snap — to click
  6. fine — all right
  7. bound — certain
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bound — tied together
  11. race — humankind
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bound — obliged
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bat — the animal
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cap — a lid
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cap — a hat

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