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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. club — for golf
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. club — a group
  5. chest — of your body
  6. staff — employees
  7. chest — a box
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. race — humankind
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. staff — a stick
  22. race — a contest
  23. deal — to handle
  24. ruler — for measuring

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