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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — for digging
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. net — after costs
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stock — shares
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ground — a position
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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