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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ground — a position
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — the earth
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitch — completely
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ground — crushed
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. branch — a division
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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