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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: rush · race · file · deal · tear · bat · kick · craft

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bat — the animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. deal — to handle
  8. kick — in football
  9. file — a document
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. file — a line of people
  12. tear — to rip
  13. race — a contest
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a tool
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — the arms race
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. craft — boats
  22. rush — hurry
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rush — to hurry

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