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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pop — soda
  4. land — a country
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — to bear
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pop — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. face — to confront
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pop — to visit
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. land — ground
  24. mate — to breed

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