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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. suit — clothes
  4. club — for dancing
  5. face — part of the head
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. club — for golf
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — the underground
  16. race — humankind
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. race — a contest
  20. suit — in cards
  21. face — to point toward
  22. tube — a container
  23. suit — to fit
  24. face — to confront

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