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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. charge — a price
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ground — a position
  5. stock — goods
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. charge — in control
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — shares
  14. fall — the season
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rash — a series
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. charge — electricity
  24. rash — on the skin

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