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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. snap — to click
  5. row — to paddle
  6. ground — the earth
  7. object — to protest
  8. cold — an illness
  9. march — music
  10. bound — tied together
  11. march — the month
  12. row — a line
  13. bound — obliged
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bound — certain
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. cold — not warm
  18. object — an aim
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. object — a thing

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