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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. ground — a position
  8. bulb — for light
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cold — an illness
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mark — a grade
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. game — wild animals

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