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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. march — the month
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. march — music
  11. band — a music group
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a ring
  14. shower — rain
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. cold — not warm
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. content — happy
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. nail — for a hammer

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