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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. race — the arms race
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — a contest
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — in sport
  16. rash — a series
  17. key — the most important part
  18. net — for catching
  19. cold — not warm
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. race — humankind
  24. net — after costs

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