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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — final
  3. current — electric
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. current — happening now
  9. present — a gift
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cap — a lid
  14. present — there
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. current — of water
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — finally
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ground — a position
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — an illness
  24. racket — for tennis

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