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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. foot — a measure
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. game — a match
  12. cold — not warm
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — wild animals
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — a line
  24. cabinet — ministers

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