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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 120 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: snap · race · drill · wave · bat · rule · wound · tear

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — government
  6. drill — army training
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rule — a law
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. drill — a practice
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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