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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 124 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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Word bank
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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chest — a box
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cell — a phone
  8. current — of water
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mark — a grade
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mark — a trace
  15. tube — a container
  16. chest — of your body
  17. current — electric
  18. rest — a break
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. current — happening now
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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