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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. march — the month
  11. pitch — completely
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — humankind
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fine — high quality
  17. chest — a box
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — a contest
  24. fine — all right

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