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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. object — to protest
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mate — a friend
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. object — a thing
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — a subject
  12. mate — to breed
  13. foot — a measure
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. swing — to play on
  19. field — farmland
  20. object — an aim
  21. cold — not warm
  22. swing — music
  23. field — for sport
  24. foot — the bottom

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