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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — a container
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ground — the earth
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — a position
  12. firm — steady
  13. cold — an illness
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. firm — decided
  18. march — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. net — for catching
  21. ground — crushed
  22. net — after costs
  23. firm — a company
  24. hide — to keep secret

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