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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. row — a line
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. bear — the animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — an illness
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. spell — magic
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rush — hurry
  23. ground — a position
  24. row — a quarrel

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