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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: cold · race · net · bowl · cap · mark

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. 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. race — the arms race
  2. net — for catching
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cap — a lid
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. 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