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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. key — the most important part
  7. lean — to bend
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. race — the arms race
  10. ground — crushed
  11. key — in music
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mark — a trace
  17. ground — a position
  18. race — a contest
  19. mark — a grade
  20. tear — from crying
  21. vault — a safe
  22. key — for a lock
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — not warm

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