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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. race — humankind
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — a contest
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — the Cold War

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