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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. spell — a short time
  6. land — a country
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. spell — letters
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. land — to come down
  14. spell — magic
  15. land — ground
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. race — a contest
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. deal — to handle
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cold — an illness
  24. race — humankind

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