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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tube — the underground
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — a break
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. race — humankind
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wind — moving air
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tube — a container

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