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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 116 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: key · safe · hand · race · wound · drill · chair · mine

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. key — in music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — help
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. key — the most important part
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. drill — army training
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. race — a contest
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. key — for a lock
  24. drill — a practice

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