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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. race — the arms race
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. race — humankind
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fine — all right
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — finally
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fine — high quality

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