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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. net — after costs
  3. shower — to wash
  4. club — for golf
  5. race — the arms race
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. net — for catching
  11. sharp — clever
  12. race — humankind
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. mug — to rob
  15. net — in sport
  16. cap — a lid
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. club — a group

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