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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — to go on
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ground — the earth
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lean — thin
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — not warm
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spring — the season
  22. kick — in football
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cold — an illness

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