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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. pit — a hole
  8. swing — in golf
  9. race — a contest
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — in a race
  14. race — humankind
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. race — the arms race
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. current — electric
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cold — not warm
  24. saw — the tool

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