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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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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of law
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — of a king
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — a match
  15. clip — a video
  16. bear — the animal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — a sports field

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