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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: fork · firm · spell · pass · hand · fall · ground · cold

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — the season
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. firm — decided
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — in a road
  13. spell — letters
  14. hand — help
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. firm — steady
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — a position
  22. cold — not warm
  23. firm — a company
  24. spell — magic

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