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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. net — in sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — a gift
  9. wake — a trail
  10. charge — electricity
  11. present — there
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ground — crushed
  16. net — for catching
  17. charge — in control
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. present — the time now
  22. charge — a price
  23. ground — a position
  24. net — after costs

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