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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. race — humankind
  3. file — a document
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — in cards
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hand — help
  11. kick — in football
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. race — a contest
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. file — a tool
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. branch — a division
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. nail — for a hammer

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