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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of law
  5. ground — crushed
  6. suit — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ground — the earth
  9. suit — to fit
  10. bass — low music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. snap — to click
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. dip — to sink
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. court — of a king
  18. bass — the fish
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. court — for sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cold — an illness
  24. saw — the tool

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