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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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 — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. shower — rain
  4. game — a match
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ground — the earth
  11. swing — in golf
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — a city
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. capital — money
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. shower — to wash
  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