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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cold — not warm
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rash — hasty
  23. ground — a position
  24. cell — in a prison

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