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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — the earth
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bound — tied together
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spring — the season
  10. date — the fruit
  11. content — the amount
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — crushed
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — happy
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bound — certain

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