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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. board — to get on
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — the earth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mark — a trace
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mark — a grade
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. ground — a position
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. kid — to tease
  22. sharp — clever
  23. board — a committee
  24. kid — child

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