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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rock — a stone
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — money
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. ground — a position
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. ground — the earth
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. present — a gift
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — a city
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stand — to bear
  24. rock — music

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