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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mark — a trace
  16. race — humankind
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rash — a series
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rash — hasty
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tube — in a tire

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