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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ground — crushed
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ground — a position
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. last — final
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. last — finally
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — to go on
  18. lie — to recline
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. ground — the earth
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bowl — to roll

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