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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stand — to bear
  3. track — a song
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. game — a match
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. pit — in a race
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. track — a path
  19. game — wild animals
  20. deal — to handle
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. game — a kind of play

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