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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. race — the arms race
  4. swing — to play on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — in music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — humankind
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. swing — music
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. key — for a lock

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