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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. race — a contest
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. ball — a dance
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. ground — a position
  13. ball — a great time
  14. roll — a list
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. foot — a measure
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. race — humankind
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cold — an illness

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