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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. band — a music group
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. press — to push
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. ground — a position
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. band — a ring
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. press — a publisher
  20. fine — all right
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fine — high quality
  24. scale — in music

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