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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ground — the earth
  8. season — of the year
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. snap — to click
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. ground — crushed

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