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

Word bank: ground · dip · cold · wake · race · wound

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ground — the earth
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. ground — a position
  14. race — humankind
  15. ground — crushed
  16. dip — to sink
  17. race — a contest
  18. wake — before a funeral

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