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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mark — a grade
  3. net — in sport
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. key — the most important part
  6. net — after costs
  7. march — music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mark — a trace
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. march — the month
  17. key — in music
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cold — an illness
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — rain
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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