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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: cold · march · rash · mouse · race · face · firm · spring

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — of water
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. face — to point toward
  6. firm — steady
  7. rash — a series
  8. face — to confront
  9. firm — decided
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. race — humankind
  19. firm — a company
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — an illness
  23. race — a contest
  24. rash — hasty

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