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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. race — humankind
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — an illness
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cue — a hint
  9. march — the month
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. file — a document
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. march — music
  19. race — the arms race
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. band — a ring
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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