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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. racket — a loud noise
  2. race — a contest
  3. cold — not warm
  4. suit — to fit
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. suit — in cards
  7. bat — the animal
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cold — an illness
  13. suit — clothes
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. race — humankind
  16. fall — the season
  17. race — the arms race
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. last — final
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  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