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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. mark — a trace
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. present — the time now
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. present — there
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. ground — a position
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. present — a gift
  24. cell — a phone

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