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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rash — hasty
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cold — not warm
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. race — humankind
  8. current — electric
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. race — a contest
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. tube — a container
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rash — a series

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