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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bat — the animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. fall — the season
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. rash — a series
  15. face — to point toward
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pitch — completely
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fall — to drop

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