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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ground — the earth
  10. last — finally
  11. ground — a position
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. ball — a dance
  14. last — final
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spring — the season
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — a coil
  24. ground — crushed

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