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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 120 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: ground · dip · bear · lie · arm · race · cold · lean

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lean — thin
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bear — the animal
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — a contest
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. race — humankind
  18. ground — crushed
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. arm — part of the body

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