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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. field — farmland
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ground — a position
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. board — to get on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. board — a committee
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. mine — for digging
  16. tear — to rip
  17. field — for sport
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. field — a subject
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bass — low music
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. rush — hurry

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