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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to confront
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. lean — thin
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pit — a hole
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. branch — a division
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. face — to point toward
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. branch — of a bank

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