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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pound — a weight
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. cold — not warm
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. season — in sport
  12. ground — a position
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. ground — the earth
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. season — of the year
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. vault — a safe
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. dip — to sink
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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