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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — humankind
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stand — to bear
  10. race — a contest
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. race — the arms race
  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