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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. band — a ring
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bore — to tire
  17. ball — a dance
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ground — a position
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. ball — a great time
  23. stand — for spectators
  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