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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rash — a series
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. hand — in cards
  9. current — happening now
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. current — electric
  12. sharp — clever
  13. board — a committee
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — a gift
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. hand — help
  22. current — of water
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. race — humankind

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