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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — a break
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. lean — thin
  16. last — final
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pop — to visit
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bowl — a dish

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