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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. last — finally
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — in sport
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fall — the season
  10. season — of the year
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. present — there
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. key — in music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. key — for a lock
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. dip — to sink

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