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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. pit — in a race
  4. lie — to recline
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — crushed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — army training
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. tear — from crying
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pit — a hole
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. ground — the earth

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