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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rest — a break
  3. fall — the season
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — humankind
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. race — a contest
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rest — what's left
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — to play on
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — a position

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