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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. march — the month
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bank — for money
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tube — a container
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bank — for money
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — of a river
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tube — the underground
  19. march — music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pop — to visit

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