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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ground — the earth
  3. charge — in control
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — a position
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — not warm
  17. charge — a price
  18. hand — in cards
  19. scale — size or range
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — crushed
  24. charge — electricity

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