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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. race — a contest
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. race — humankind
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. can — a tin
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. face — to confront
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. face — to point toward
  24. snap — to click

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