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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — money
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a match
  7. content — happy
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — of a king
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ground — crushed
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. court — of law
  14. content — the amount
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. lie — to recline

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