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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ground — a position
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. hand — help
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. content — happy
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spell — letters
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spell — magic
  19. content — the amount
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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