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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. firm — steady
  3. pit — in a race
  4. club — for golf
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — a hole
  8. firm — a company
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — a list
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. march — music
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fork — in a road
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. firm — decided
  22. club — a group
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — thin

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