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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spell — magic
  4. stand — to bear
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spell — a short time
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a match
  16. ground — a position
  17. mug — a face
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mug — to rob
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ground — the earth
  24. spell — letters

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