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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. last — final
  6. spring — of water
  7. track — a song
  8. spring — a coil
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. last — finally
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bass — the fish
  16. last — to go on
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bass — low music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. spring — the season
  22. scale — in music
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. ground — a position

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