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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bass — low music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. march — music
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bass — the fish
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pitch — completely
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — a hat

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