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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a tool
  6. bore — to drill
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. file — a line of people
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. march — music
  15. kid — child
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bore — to tire
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a document
  24. can — a tin

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