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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. object — to protest
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — a tin
  7. mug — a cup
  8. can — a tin
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hand — help
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. object — an aim
  15. mug — to rob
  16. object — a thing
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. can — to be able to
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — an illness
  24. prune — the fruit

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