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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · pop · cold · stick · march · kick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. march — the month
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. kick — in football
  14. pop — soda
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — a thrill

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