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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. squash — to crush
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. band — a music group
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. band — a ring
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. lean — thin

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