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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — not warm
  3. dip — to sink
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. present — there
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rule — a law
  11. present — a gift
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. pit — a hole
  18. chip — for betting
  19. present — the time now
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chip — to eat
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rule — government

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