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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — a video
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — a subject
  15. fall — the season
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — music
  18. field — for sport
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. field — farmland
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. march — music
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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