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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: cold · game · land · hide · lash · ground · mark · fork

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cold — an illness
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — a position
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — ground
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ground — the earth
  13. land — to come down
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. game — a match
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. land — a country
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — not warm

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