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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: cue · cold · last · ground · hide · march · roll · lean

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cue — a hint
  3. lean — thin
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — finally
  9. cold — not warm
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — an illness
  13. last — final
  14. ground — the earth
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. roll — a list
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cue — a signal
  21. lean — to bend
  22. march — music
  23. roll — a cake
  24. lean — to rest against

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