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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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. content — videos and posts
  4. season — in sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a city
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. season — of the year
  10. bass — low music
  11. race — humankind
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bass — the fish
  17. saw — the tool
  18. race — a contest
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — money
  22. content — the amount
  23. race — the arms race
  24. capital — a big letter

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