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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. mug — a face
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — an illness
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. ground — a position
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. scale — in music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stand — to bear
  24. ground — the earth

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