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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. ground — a position
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fall — to drop
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cap — of ice
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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