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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. present — the time now
  8. ground — crushed
  9. lean — thin
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mark — a grade
  18. kid — child
  19. bark — to shout
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. lean — to bend
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ground — a position

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