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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · deal · cabinet · race · hide · cold

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — the arms race
  4. row — a line
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — a contest
  10. row — to paddle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. deal — to handle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. race — humankind
  18. hide — animal skin

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