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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — the arms race
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — in a race
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fine — all right
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kid — child
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. board — to get on

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