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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. last — final
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cold — not warm
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. last — to go on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tube — a container

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