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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. swing — to play on
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. present — a gift
  9. swing — music
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. date — the fruit
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. present — the time now
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — not warm
  18. roll — a cake
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. present — there

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