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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bass — low music
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ground — the earth
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cold — not warm
  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