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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a song
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. suit — in cards
  15. march — music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ground — a position
  18. kid — child
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — clothes
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. ground — crushed

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