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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. race — the arms race
  6. craft — boats
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — humankind
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — to go on
  13. craft — a skill
  14. last — finally
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. race — a contest
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — a lid

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