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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rush — hurry
  6. toast — bread
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. rush — to hurry

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