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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ground — a position
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — of water
  8. saw — the tool
  9. current — happening now
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. current — of water
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cold — an illness
  17. current — electric
  18. present — there
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — the time now
  22. ball — a dance
  23. spring — the season
  24. present — a gift

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