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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — the arms race
  3. ground — a position
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — to go on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — final
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cue — a hint
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. race — humankind
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — finally
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. race — a contest

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