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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cap — a lid
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. fine — high quality
  9. row — to paddle
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a line
  13. kick — in football
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cap — a hat
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fine — all right
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tear — to rip
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chair — a leader
  24. kick — with a leg

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