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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: fine · squash · can · cold · chest · cap · land · race

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fine — all right
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cap — of ice
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cap — a lid
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. chest — a box
  20. race — humankind
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cap — a hat
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — ground

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