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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. land — to come down
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. land — ground
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pound — a weight
  19. land — a country
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pit — a hole

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