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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — humankind
  8. rule — government
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. season — of the year
  16. cold — not warm
  17. season — in sport
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. dip — to sink
  24. race — a contest

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