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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. net — in sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — a cake
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. net — for catching
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ground — a position
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. rash — a series
  17. net — after costs
  18. lean — thin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — the animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bat — for baseball

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