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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bass — low music
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. face — part of the head
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. ground — a position
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mark — a trace
  21. roll — a cake
  22. mark — a grade
  23. roll — a list
  24. date — on the calendar

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