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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. race — humankind
  5. board — a committee
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fine — all right
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fine — high quality
  11. drill — army training
  12. board — to get on
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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