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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bound — tied together
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bound — obliged
  5. field — for sport
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — an illness
  8. field — a subject
  9. cold — not warm
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rock — music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. ground — a position
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. ground — crushed
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bound — certain
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rock — a stone
  22. degree — an amount
  23. field — farmland
  24. snap — to click

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