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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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. rest — a break
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. firm — decided
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rest — what's left
  12. band — a ring
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. firm — a company
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. band — a music group
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bat — the animal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. firm — steady
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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