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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fall — to drop
  4. march — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — in music
  8. content — happy
  9. bore — to drill
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bore — to tire
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. content — the amount
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — for light
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bulb — of a plant

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