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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cap — a hat
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. present — the time now
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bass — low music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. race — a contest
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cap — of ice
  21. present — a gift
  22. cue — a hint
  23. present — there
  24. cue — for pool

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