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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — a tin
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ground — a position
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. content — happy
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. content — the amount
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. can — to be able to
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. ground — crushed
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. swing — music

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