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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. content — the amount
  10. ground — the earth
  11. sharp — clever
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. content — happy
  14. ground — crushed
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ground — a position
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mine — belonging to me

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