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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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Word bank
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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 · pass · game · kid · nail · bound · sharp · cell

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cell — a phone
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kid — child
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — certain
  16. pass — a permit
  17. race — the arms race
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bound — tied together
  20. kid — to tease
  21. game — a match
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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