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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. foot — a measure
  11. land — a country
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fall — the season
  14. land — ground
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. ground — the earth
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. foot — the bottom

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