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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. suit — in cards
  7. degree — an amount
  8. deal — to handle
  9. suit — clothes
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cold — not warm
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. track — a song
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. track — a path
  22. suit — to fit
  23. ground — the earth
  24. track — to keep track

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