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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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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: nail · fall · firm · bowl · cold · pitcher · race · fan

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  3. firm — steady
  4. race — a contest
  5. firm — decided
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — the season
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. firm — a company
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — not warm
  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