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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. field — farmland
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. firm — steady
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ground — a position
  12. hand — in cards
  13. last — to go on
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — help
  16. last — finally
  17. cue — a hint
  18. firm — decided
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cue — a signal
  21. last — final
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. firm — a company
  24. ground — the earth

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