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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. drill — army training
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cue — a signal
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pop — music
  13. cue — for pool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. ground — a position
  17. capital — a city
  18. cue — a hint
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pop — soda
  24. pitcher — a jug

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