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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a great time
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rush — hurry
  9. row — a line
  10. pound — a weight
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. object — to protest
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. object — a thing
  19. ground — the earth
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. object — an aim
  24. row — to paddle

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