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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. band — a ring
  3. rest — what's left
  4. band — a music group
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rest — a break
  7. race — humankind
  8. deal — to handle
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — a lid
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cap — of ice
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cold — an illness
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. race — the arms race

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