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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: cold · rock · object · squash · fall · ground · cell · mine

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in biology
  7. object — an aim
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. fall — the season
  14. ground — a position
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rock — a stone
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. object — to protest

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