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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. ground — a position
  6. capital — money
  7. ground — the earth
  8. track — a song
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. track — to keep track
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. sharp — clever
  19. capital — a city
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. ground — crushed

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