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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. last — to go on
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rest — a break
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. last — final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — a thing
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — a contest
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fine — all right
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — an illness

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