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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cap — of ice
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. deal — to handle
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. spring — of water
  8. fine — all right
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — the earth
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ground — crushed
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cap — a lid
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. spring — the season

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