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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. row — to paddle
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bore — to tire
  8. band — a music group
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rash — a series
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. pound — a weight
  16. band — a ring
  17. bore — to drill
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — the month

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