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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. can — a tin
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. can — a tin
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cold — not warm
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. foot — a measure
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — to paddle
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wound — an injury

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