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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rash — a series
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cap — a hat
  6. scale — in music
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pass — a permit
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rash — hasty
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cap — a lid
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cold — an illness

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