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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — music
  5. rule — government
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pop — soda
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rule — a law
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pit — in a race
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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