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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — to point toward
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ground — the earth
  6. band — a ring
  7. spell — a short time
  8. face — part of the head
  9. content — happy
  10. rock — music
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. cell — a phone
  14. face — to confront
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rock — a stone
  17. content — the amount
  18. spell — letters
  19. object — to protest
  20. spell — magic
  21. band — a music group
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rock — to move gently

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