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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bore — to tire
  3. ground — a position
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. swing — music
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rest — a break
  13. can — a tin
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — what's left
  18. can — a tin
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ground — the earth
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — in golf

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