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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: pop · cold · clip · bat · cabinet · bear · race · present

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. present — a gift
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — there
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — the time now
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — a contest
  14. pop — soda
  15. clip — a video
  16. pop — to visit
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pop — music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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