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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mark — a trace
  14. charge — in control
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a music group
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. saw — the tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. band — a ring
  24. saw — the tool

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