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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. clip — a video
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — an amount
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. degree — temperature
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. ground — a position
  19. fine — high quality
  20. dip — to sink
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. fine — all right
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cold — not warm

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