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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. row — a line
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitch — completely
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. last — finally
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — hurry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rest — a break
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. mine — for digging

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