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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — soda
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pop — music
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pop — to visit
  21. fall — the season
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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