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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rock — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. capital — a city
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pop — music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. ground — a position
  13. pop — to visit
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rest — a break
  16. capital — money
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rock — a stone
  23. drill — army training
  24. leaves — to go away

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