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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. march — music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. scale — in music
  5. march — the month
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. last — finally
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — to go on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. last — final
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. scale — size or range

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