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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 · present · cell · nail · board · race

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — the time now
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — a contest
  10. cell — in biology
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. race — the arms race
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — there

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