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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — of water
  3. content — happy
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. net — after costs
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — the amount
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — in sport
  13. key — the most important part
  14. spring — a coil
  15. key — in music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pound — a weight
  18. key — for a lock
  19. spring — the season
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. net — for catching
  24. pound — for dogs

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