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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. lean — to bend
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. spring — of water
  9. ground — a position
  10. wake — a trail
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. tube — the underground
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — the season
  19. track — a song
  20. lean — thin
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wound — an injury

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