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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. ground — the earth
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — for pool
  7. season — of the year
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — certain
  14. land — to come down
  15. cue — a hint
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bound — obliged
  20. season — in sport
  21. land — ground
  22. cue — a signal
  23. ground — a position
  24. pass — a permit

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