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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. hand — help
  6. stock — goods
  7. bound — tied together
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bound — obliged
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — a position
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stock — shares
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bound — certain
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — an illness

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