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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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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rock — a stone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cold — an illness
  5. track — a path
  6. rock — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ground — crushed
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rock — to move gently

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