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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cold — not warm
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. key — in music
  9. can — a tin
  10. pop — music
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. key — for a lock
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — an illness
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — the animal
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pop — soda
  24. can — a tin

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