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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. drill — army training
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ground — a position
  11. drill — a practice
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. board — to get on
  19. drill — the tool
  20. board — a committee
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. sharp — exactly

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