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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: saw · foot · race · mine · deal · bat · tear · wake

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. saw — the tool
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bat — the animal
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tear — from crying
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. race — a contest
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tear — to rip
  24. deal — an agreement

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