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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — to bend
  3. sharp — clever
  4. ground — a position
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wound — an injury
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. lean — thin
  9. cap — a hat
  10. ground — the earth
  11. firm — decided
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — steady
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — the tool
  19. firm — a company
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ground — crushed

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