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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: race · chest · row · land · stand · cold · bulb · dip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. race — humankind
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. land — to come down
  9. race — a contest
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stand — to bear
  17. chest — a box
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. row — a line
  24. race — the arms race

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