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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 · ground · present · bay · march · cabinet · squash · clip

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — crushed
  5. march — music
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — a position
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — a gift
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. present — the time now
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. present — there
  24. bay — a horse colour

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