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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. race — the arms race
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. race — humankind
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wake — a trail
  12. race — a contest
  13. spell — a short time
  14. game — a match
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — letters
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stand — on your feet

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