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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. object — to protest
  11. field — a subject
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. field — for sport
  14. object — an aim
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — a position
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — in biology
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. object — a thing

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