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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bear — the animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. face — part of the head
  9. ground — the earth
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. present — the time now
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. face — to confront
  20. present — there
  21. rash — hasty
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bear — the animal
  24. straw — a straw man

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