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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — to tease
  5. scale — in music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chest — a box
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. kid — child
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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