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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. land — to come down
  4. object — a thing
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — not warm
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. drill — army training
  9. land — ground
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. lean — thin
  16. drill — a practice
  17. object — to protest
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. sharp — clever
  20. drill — the tool
  21. lean — to bend
  22. ground — the earth
  23. object — an aim
  24. sharp — exactly

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