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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lean — thin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ground — crushed
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. club — for dancing
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. can — a tin
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. scale — in music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. cold — not warm
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. club — a group
  18. can — a tin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. scale — size or range
  21. club — for golf
  22. lean — to bend
  23. dip — to sink
  24. can — to be able to

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