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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. key — in music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cold — an illness
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. ground — a position
  13. season — in sport
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. key — for a lock
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. ground — crushed
  18. race — humankind
  19. ground — the earth
  20. race — a contest
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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