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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: drill · race · cold · firm · spring · rash · safe · bay

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — humankind
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. drill — the tool
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — a contest
  11. spring — of water
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. drill — army training
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. spring — the season
  16. rash — hasty
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. rash — a series
  21. firm — decided
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bay — a horse colour

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