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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: mine · present · lie · rock · staff · race · cold · bear

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. staff — employees
  3. present — a gift
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. lie — to recline
  6. race — a contest
  7. staff — employees
  8. rock — music
  9. present — there
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. staff — a stick
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. present — the time now
  24. cold — the Cold War

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