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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  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. toast — a drink to someone
  2. cap — a lid
  3. present — the time now
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bore — to tire
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. present — there
  9. current — happening now
  10. race — humankind
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cold — not warm
  14. toast — bread
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — a gift
  17. bore — to drill
  18. current — electric
  19. race — a contest
  20. cap — of ice
  21. current — of water
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bore — gave birth
  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