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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — a series
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ground — the earth
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — a match
  9. club — for dancing
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. ground — crushed
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. ground — a position
  16. club — for golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rash — hasty
  19. clip — to cut
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cold — not warm
  22. club — a group
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. safe — out of danger

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