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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — humankind
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. race — a contest
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rest — a break

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