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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — in control
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. pitch — completely
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — humankind
  12. scale — size or range
  13. charge — electricity
  14. scale — in music
  15. race — a contest
  16. current — of water
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. race — the arms race
  19. current — happening now
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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