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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. roll — a list
  5. last — to go on
  6. ball — a dance
  7. roll — a cake
  8. ball — a great time
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — the earth
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. last — finally
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cell — a phone
  20. toast — bread
  21. last — final
  22. cell — in biology
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. roll — on a roll

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