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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 116 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 · rest · key · ball · race · ruler · mark · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rest — a break
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mark — a grade
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a trace
  16. key — in music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. race — a contest
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. race — humankind
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rest — what's left

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