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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. race — a contest
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. ball — a great time
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. race — the arms race

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