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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bound — certain
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. last — final
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. lie — to recline
  12. field — a subject
  13. last — to go on
  14. ground — a position
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. last — finally
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cold — an illness
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. ground — the earth

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