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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 124 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cap — a lid
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — an illness
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. capital — money
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rush — hurry
  17. file — a document
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a tool
  22. cap — of ice
  23. capital — a city
  24. file — a line of people

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