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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — to trim
  5. present — the time now
  6. land — to come down
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. land — a country
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. march — music
  16. present — there
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. band — a ring
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. march — the month
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. present — a gift
  24. band — a music group

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