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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ground — crushed
  7. hand — help
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ground — a position
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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