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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — in sport
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. net — after costs
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. net — for catching
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. club — a group
  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