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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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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. charge — a price
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. season — of the year
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. race — a contest
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — an illness
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. firm — decided
  17. season — in sport
  18. race — humankind

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