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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. perch — the fish
  3. snap — to click
  4. race — a contest
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cap — a hat
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — to handle
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ground — a position
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cap — a lid
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. race — the arms race
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. race — humankind
  21. ground — the earth
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rash — a series
  24. cap — of ice

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