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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — a line
  11. bear — the animal
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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