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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cap — a hat
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. race — a contest
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — to crush
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. ground — a position
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cap — of ice
  18. squash — the sport
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cap — a lid
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. ground — the earth
  24. last — to go on

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