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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tube — the underground
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — rain
  8. bank — for money
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cold — an illness
  11. march — music
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bank — of a river
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. march — the month
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bank — for money

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