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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. season — of the year
  7. row — to paddle
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — goods
  11. present — a gift
  12. season — in sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stock — shares
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — to drop
  20. present — the time now
  21. fall — the season
  22. present — there
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — a line

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