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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. band — a ring
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. staff — employees
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. scale — size or range
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ground — a position
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. spell — magic
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. scale — in music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. band — a music group
  24. bore — to drill

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