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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — a lid
  6. ground — crushed
  7. land — ground
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — a hat
  12. land — to come down
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. last — finally
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. land — a country
  17. march — the month
  18. last — final
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bore — to tire
  22. march — the month
  23. bore — to drill
  24. march — music

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