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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fall — the season
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cap — of ice
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cue — for pool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cue — a signal
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cue — a hint
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — an illness

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