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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. tear — from crying
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ground — a position
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — to rip
  20. degree — from a university
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. cold — an illness

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