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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: pit · present · cap · toast · cold · race

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. toast — bread
  2. race — a contest
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cap — a lid
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. race — the arms race
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  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