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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kid — child
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — to tease
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cold — an illness
  12. band — a ring
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. march — the month
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — to confront
  18. band — a music group
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. face — to point toward
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mouse — the animal

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