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

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. band — a music group
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. march — music
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a ring
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — for digging
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. march — the month
  24. deal — to handle

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