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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fine — all right
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to click
  15. fine — high quality
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. race — humankind
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — moving air
  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