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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — the season
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. perch — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bass — low music
  21. ground — crushed
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wind — moving air

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