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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — a hat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mate — to breed
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. track — a path
  8. object — to protest
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — an aim
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cap — a lid
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cap — of ice
  17. track — a song
  18. mate — a partner
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mate — a friend
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. object — a thing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — an illness

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