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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. date — the fruit
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — for sport
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. race — a contest
  8. firm — a company
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mark — a grade
  12. firm — steady
  13. court — of a king
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. firm — decided
  17. spring — of water
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. court — of law
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — an illness
  24. perch — the fish

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