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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — of a word
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bore — to drill
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — the cause
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bore — to tire
  21. ball — a great time
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ball — a dance
  24. root — of a plant

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