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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. track — a song
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. race — humankind
  8. track — a path
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. dip — to sink
  22. squash — the sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. present — the time now

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