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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ground — the earth
  6. net — after costs
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wind — moving air
  9. roll — a list
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — a position
  13. net — in sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. net — for catching
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rash — a series
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rest — a break

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