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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rest — a break
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. track — a song
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rest — what's left
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. track — to keep track
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a great time
  17. race — humankind
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mark — a trace
  22. ball — a dance
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rest — what's left

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