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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. capital — money
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — not warm
  5. can — to be able to
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cue — a signal
  14. rash — a series
  15. capital — a city
  16. bore — to drill
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — a tin
  19. cue — for pool
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bore — to tire
  23. march — music
  24. capital — a big letter

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