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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a music group
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — to come down
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spring — the season
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. band — a ring
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spring — of water
  24. leaves — lets stay

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