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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. race — a contest
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cold — not warm
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ground — crushed
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bound — certain
  13. mark — a grade
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bound — obliged
  17. race — humankind
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — an illness
  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