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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. present — there
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — farmland
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. present — a gift
  11. field — a subject
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ground — the earth
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. present — the time now
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wound — an injury

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