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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. track — a path
  3. cold — not warm
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. ground — a position
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. track — a song
  9. root — the cause
  10. club — for golf
  11. snap — to click
  12. club — a group
  13. ground — the earth
  14. plane — a tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. sharp — clever
  20. root — of a word
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — of a plant
  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