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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. saw — the tool
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cap — a hat
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rash — hasty
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pitch — a sports field

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