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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bound — certain
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. bound — obliged
  9. race — the arms race
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. toast — bread
  13. bound — tied together
  14. drill — army training
  15. ground — crushed
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool

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