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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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Word bank
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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: rush · club · rest · mark · cold · mine · bulb · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. club — for golf
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — humankind
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rush — hurry
  14. club — for dancing
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. rest — a break
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. club — a group
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rush — a thrill

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