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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. last — to go on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. firm — steady
  8. ground — a position
  9. rash — a series
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — decided
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — for sport
  15. last — final
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rash — hasty
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. cold — the Cold War

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