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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 124 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rule — government
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. net — after costs
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. race — humankind
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — for catching
  21. race — a contest
  22. rule — a law
  23. pitch — completely
  24. ball — a dance

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