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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — the month
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — not warm
  12. march — music
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — for digging
  19. march — the month
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pitch — completely
  22. track — a path
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. lean — thin

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