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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pop — soda
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. key — the most important part
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. roll — a cake
  14. key — in music
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pop — music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. roll — a list
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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