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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — the earth
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cap — of ice
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ground — crushed
  12. season — in sport
  13. content — happy
  14. bark — to shout
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — help
  18. cap — a hat
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cap — a lid
  23. march — music
  24. season — of the year

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