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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — a path
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. march — music
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. cold — not warm
  8. track — a song
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — an illness
  12. band — a ring
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rush — hurry
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. vault — a safe
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. band — a music group

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