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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — in music
  5. can — a tin
  6. charge — in control
  7. race — humankind
  8. ground — a position
  9. charge — electricity
  10. race — the arms race
  11. can — to be able to
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. can — a tin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. firm — a company
  22. charge — a price
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ground — crushed

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