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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. ground — a position
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ground — the earth
  6. drill — army training
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bulb — for light
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — a practice
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. ground — crushed

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