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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. rock — music
  6. net — after costs
  7. last — finally
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — to go on
  12. content — happy
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rock — a stone
  17. spell — magic
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — final
  21. content — the amount
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spell — letters
  24. ground — a position

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