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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: cold · march · ball · ground · patient · pop · lean · can

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. can — a tin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — music
  10. march — music
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — an illness
  16. can — a tin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ball — a great time
  19. march — the month
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. can — to be able to
  24. lean — to bend

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