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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 124 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ground — a position
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — the earth
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cell — in biology
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a trace
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mark — a grade
  19. sharp — clever
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. cap — a lid
  23. ground — crushed
  24. shower — rain

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