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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. spell — letters
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. ground — a position
  7. spell — a short time
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. content — happy
  11. scale — in music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spell — magic
  14. fall — the season
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ground — the earth
  18. content — the amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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