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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spring — of water
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. current — happening now
  9. lean — thin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — a coil
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cold — an illness
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. current — electric
  19. spring — the season
  20. current — of water
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. race — a contest

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