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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rash — hasty
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — of a plant
  8. track — a song
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cold — an illness
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. season — in sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pit — a hole
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — a series
  20. track — a path
  21. ground — a position
  22. root — of a word
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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