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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — shares
  11. object — an aim
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — goods
  14. date — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. object — to protest
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. object — a thing
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. drill — army training
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. drill — a practice

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