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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kick — in football
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spell — magic
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. scale — in music
  19. ground — crushed
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — letters
  24. 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