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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. scale — in music
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. race — a contest
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — a trace
  15. race — humankind
  16. mark — a grade
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. race — the arms race
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — not warm
  23. march — music
  24. dip — a sauce

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