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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — the amount
  4. bulb — for light
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitch — completely
  13. last — to go on
  14. spring — a coil
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — final
  18. wound — an injury
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — finally
  23. ground — a position
  24. jam — a tight spot

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