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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: cold · chair · wind · foot · rest · racket · race · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — a measure
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. race — humankind
  11. cold — not warm
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — final
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. racket — for tennis

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