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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. ball — a great time
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. swing — to play on
  9. band — a music group
  10. swing — music
  11. rest — a break
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. field — for sport
  14. ground — the earth
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. swing — in golf
  20. band — a ring
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. field — farmland

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