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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rock — music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. ground — crushed
  17. game — a match
  18. ground — a position

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