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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — a measure
  3. march — music
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — an illness
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — final
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. last — finally
  21. tube — a container
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. sharp — with an edge

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