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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cap — a hat
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cold — not warm
  9. key — in music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. key — the most important part
  16. craft — boats
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cap — a lid
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. craft — a skill
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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