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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. march — the month
  5. can — a tin
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. club — for dancing
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — crushed
  13. toast — bread
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — the fish
  17. club — a group
  18. march — music
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. ground — a position
  21. plane — a tool
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. march — the month
  24. club — for golf

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