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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. race — a contest
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cue — for pool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. race — the arms race
  7. staff — a stick
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. race — humankind
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. field — farmland
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — an illness
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. staff — employees
  22. kick — in football
  23. saw — the tool
  24. kick — with a leg

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