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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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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. field — for sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — a contest
  8. chip — to eat
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — government
  11. pit — in a race
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — a hole
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chip — for betting
  20. season — of the year
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rule — to rule out

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