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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rash — a series
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rash — hasty
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bound — tied together
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bound — certain
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — in music
  19. bound — obliged
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ball — a great time
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. race — humankind
  24. ball — a dance

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