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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. staff — employees
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. march — music
  8. cap — a hat
  9. march — the month
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. staff — a stick
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cap — a lid
  16. staff — employees
  17. bank — for money
  18. kid — child
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bank — of a river
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bank — for money
  23. scale — in music
  24. march — the month

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