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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. staff — employees
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — music
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. staff — a stick
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kid — child
  18. toast — bread
  19. tear — from crying
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. cold — not warm
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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