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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fine — all right
  5. land — a country
  6. race — humankind
  7. land — to come down
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fine — high quality
  10. land — ground
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. march — music
  15. season — in sport
  16. march — the month
  17. season — of the year
  18. race — the arms race
  19. net — in sport
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. net — for catching
  22. march — the month
  23. race — a contest
  24. net — after costs

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