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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 water is too ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — to handle
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — the fish
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — a position
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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