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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. race — humankind
  3. drill — army training
  4. game — a match
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. race — a contest
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. drill — a practice
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mark — a trace
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. drill — the tool
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mark — a grade
  22. fall — to drop
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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