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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 124 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. race — humankind
  6. wind — moving air
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — a contest
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pit — in a race
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. pit — a hole

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