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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.

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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: last · rash · mine · wake · dip · cold · ball · ground

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. last — final
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. last — to go on
  14. rash — a series
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rash — hasty

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