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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — a partner
  5. march — music
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fine — all right
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. key — in music
  13. tube — a container
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fine — high quality
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tube — the underground
  21. key — for a lock
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wake — before a funeral

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