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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — a measure
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cold — an illness
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. last — finally
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. march — music
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chair — a professorship

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