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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · ground · fan · pitch · rule · rock · mark · cold

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rule — a law
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rock — music
  17. rule — government
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mark — a grade
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — a trace
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bore — to drill
  24. fan — to cool the air

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