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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — not warm
  6. press — newspapers
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mate — to breed
  9. march — music
  10. last — final
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — to go on
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. mate — a partner
  18. press — a publisher
  19. staff — employees
  20. press — to push
  21. march — the month
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — a stick

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