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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — humankind
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rock — music
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — a contest
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — moving air

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