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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. game — a match
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — ground
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. track — a song
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. track — to keep track
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — a country
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. track — a path
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. land — to come down
  23. cold — an illness
  24. scale — size or range

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