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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. march — music
  3. can — a tin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. can — a tin
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. kick — in football
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. can — to be able to
  21. ground — a position
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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