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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — finally
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. staff — employees
  8. bore — to drill
  9. squash — to crush
  10. roll — a list
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — to go on
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — to tire
  15. mine — for digging
  16. march — music
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — final
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — not warm
  22. staff — employees
  23. march — the month
  24. staff — a stick

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