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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ground — a position
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fork — in a road
  6. lean — thin
  7. content — the amount
  8. can — a tin
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. drill — a practice
  13. content — happy
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — army training
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. drill — the tool
  20. can — to be able to
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lean — to bend
  23. can — a tin
  24. branch — a division

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