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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chest — a box
  8. wound — an injury
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ground — the earth
  11. race — humankind
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. race — a contest
  17. rash — a series
  18. ball — a great time
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ground — a position
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wound — an injury

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