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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wound — an injury
  5. court — of a king
  6. charge — in control
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. saw — the tool
  14. charge — a price
  15. ground — a position
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stock — goods
  23. charge — electricity
  24. ground — the earth

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