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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. march — the month
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mug — to rob
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — to sink
  16. race — humankind
  17. mug — a face
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mug — a cup
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cold — an illness
  24. sharp — clever

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