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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. 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. mark — a trace
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. prune — to trim
  5. swing — in golf
  6. prune — to trim
  7. land — to come down
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — ground
  12. race — a contest
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. swing — music
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. land — a country
  24. 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