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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — humankind
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fine — all right
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cell — in biology

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