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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. scale — in music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. ground — a position
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. shower — to wash
  12. land — a country
  13. court — of law
  14. last — final
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. court — for sport
  17. shower — rain
  18. land — to come down
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — ground
  22. fork — in a road
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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