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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. current — happening now
  3. cap — a lid
  4. march — music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. game — wild animals
  12. current — electric
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. current — of water
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — a match
  24. cap — of ice

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