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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. last — final
  3. cold — not warm
  4. charge — in control
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. charge — electricity
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bear — the animal
  13. lean — thin
  14. drill — army training
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. charge — a price
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cold — an illness

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