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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — the month
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. ground — a position
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — not warm
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cold — the Cold War

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