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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. march — the month
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. can — a tin
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ground — the earth
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. march — music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — crushed
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cue — a hint
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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