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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: object · race · pitcher · perch · rule · last · kid · firm

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. race — a contest
  4. object — to protest
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — final
  9. rule — a law
  10. firm — a company
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. kid — to tease
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — finally
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. last — to go on
  18. firm — steady
  19. object — a thing
  20. rule — government
  21. perch — the fish
  22. firm — decided
  23. object — an aim
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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