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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — music
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — a video
  16. toast — bread
  17. season — of the year
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bank — for money
  23. march — the month
  24. season — in sport

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