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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 124 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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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: ground · cold · mate · deal · pitcher · can · clip · mark

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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 — a position
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mate — a partner
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. ground — crushed
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. can — a tin
  19. deal — to handle
  20. can — to be able to
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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