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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stem — to come from
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. squash — the sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. scale — size or range
  21. hand — help
  22. scale — in music
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — on your feet

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