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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — tied together
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — not warm
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bound — certain

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