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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ground — crushed
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. clip — to cut
  9. craft — boats
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ground — the earth
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — in cards
  14. craft — a skill
  15. cold — an illness
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — happy
  21. suit — to fit
  22. content — the amount
  23. ground — a position
  24. cell — a phone

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