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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: club · cell · kid · tear · lie · ground · mug · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tear — to rip
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — to recline
  7. club — a group
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. club — for golf
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mug — a face
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mug — a cup
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mug — to rob

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