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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. branch — a division
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ground — crushed
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chip — for betting
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. drill — army training
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. row — a line
  22. drill — the tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. branch — of a bank

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