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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — a position
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — in biology
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cold — not warm
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  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