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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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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 · rash · bat · fall · jam · last · ground · staff

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — a position
  3. fall — the season
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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