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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. race — a contest
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — a subject
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. board — a committee
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. field — for sport
  18. dip — to sink

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