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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cold — an illness
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. chest — a box
  8. toast — bread
  9. field — for sport
  10. march — music
  11. can — a tin
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. squash — to crush
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — not warm

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