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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fine — high quality
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — certain
  8. pitch — completely
  9. prune — to trim
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fine — all right
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. foot — a measure
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. capital — money
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. fine — a penalty

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