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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 no middle ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. present — the time now
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bass — low music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. present — there
  10. drill — the tool
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. present — a gift
  16. bass — the fish
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. drill — army training
  20. craft — boats
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pitcher — a jug

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