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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mark — a trace
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bound — tied together
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bound — obliged
  16. mark — a grade
  17. staff — employees
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ground — a position
  23. season — of the year
  24. bound — certain

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