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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. race — a contest
  4. kick — in football
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bat — the animal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — humankind
  15. rush — hurry
  16. capital — money
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. capital — a city
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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