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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mug — a face
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — a contest
  7. present — there
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. present — the time now
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. key — the most important part
  14. board — to get on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. mug — to rob
  18. key — in music
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mug — a cup
  21. board — a committee
  22. race — humankind
  23. key — for a lock
  24. trunk — of a car

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