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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. charge — in control
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. charge — electricity
  9. ground — a position
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. charge — a price
  12. ground — the earth
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — clever
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ground — crushed
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pit — in a race

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