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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. track — a path
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. degree — an amount
  6. roll — a cake
  7. march — the month
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — an illness
  11. track — a song
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cold — not warm
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — a list
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. net — in sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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