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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — a position
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. clip — a video
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rush — hurry
  18. stock — goods
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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