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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. roll — a list
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. ground — a position
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. sharp — clever

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