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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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Word bank
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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: plane · cold · squash · race · rest · wound · present · can

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rest — a break
  4. squash — to crush
  5. can — a tin
  6. present — the time now
  7. squash — the sport
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. present — there
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. can — to be able to
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rest — what's left
  19. can — a tin
  20. plane — a tool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. present — a gift
  23. cold — not warm
  24. plane — an aircraft

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