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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cell — in biology
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. cold — an illness
  13. can — a tin
  14. pit — in a race
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cell — a phone
  23. last — to go on
  24. can — a tin

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