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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: cabinet · firm · bat · wind · sharp · fan · race · kid

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. race — humankind
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kid — child
  10. race — a contest
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. firm — a company
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — steady
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. sharp — exactly

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