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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. ground — a position
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — an illness
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ball — a great time
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rest — a break
  12. present — the time now
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rest — what's left
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — not warm
  22. present — there
  23. racket — for tennis
  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