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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: bay · ground · present · pitcher · content · sharp · cold · can

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. content — happy
  6. ground — a position
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. ground — the earth
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — crushed
  12. can — a tin
  13. present — there
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. can — a tin
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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