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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. ground — the earth
  5. march — the month
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. land — a country
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hand — help
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. march — music
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. hand — in cards
  21. march — the month
  22. land — ground
  23. cold — not warm
  24. scale — for weighing

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