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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. wake — a trail
  3. charge — a price
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. lean — thin
  13. charge — electricity
  14. row — a line
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. charge — in control
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. clip — a video
  24. lean — to bend

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