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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. last — final
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. game — a match
  12. last — finally
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cue — for pool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cue — a hint
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — a signal
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bulb — for light
  24. game — wild animals

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