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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · drill · object · kid · chip · last

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. chip — to eat
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — to tease
  7. object — an aim
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — to protest
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chip — for betting
  16. race — humankind
  17. kid — child
  18. last — final

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