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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 · bat · current · cap · plane · mug · race · chest

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mug — a cup
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cap — of ice
  8. race — humankind
  9. current — happening now
  10. race — a contest
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cap — a lid
  18. current — electric
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. current — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cold — an illness

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