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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — a position
  5. cap — a hat
  6. row — a line
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ground — the earth
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. coach — a trainer

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