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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — a position
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. game — wild animals
  9. present — the time now
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bear — the animal
  12. present — there
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — child
  16. craft — boats
  17. object — a thing
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. object — to protest
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. object — an aim

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