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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. land — to come down
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. cue — a hint
  12. key — the most important part
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cold — not warm
  16. key — for a lock
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. key — in music

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