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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. race — a contest
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rest — what's left
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bulb — for light
  12. race — humankind
  13. rest — a break
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. swing — music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cell — in biology

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